Ebony

by EbonyAnimalSpirit

It started with a single crimson feather. One single feather, fallen among a sea of black... Lost to the fluttering, ebony waves, cold and drowning... Alone. We should have guessed we were bad for one another... but we didn't... Idiot {My Hero Academia} {HawksXOC} {Spoilers for Anime/Manga}

28. Chapter 28- Weird

Chapter 28

Weird

.:+:.

The harsh yellow-white glow of a lightbulb probably several years passed it's prime spilled down over his figure, the apparently 18 year old Sushi-Dude sitting on the edge of the curb, and pressed against the wall and overhang attached- just inches short of the rain pounding down. He had his knees pulled in close and his head down for his forehead to rest against them, tugging still with his hands at the ends of the jacket latched between his teeth... And it kinda seemed he couldn't get his jaw to unlock, like at all.

Strange, but it seemed like it was a nervous tick. And maybe one exacerbated by a Quirk...?

Spirit wasn't really sure, and she had no way of really asking about it to find out either- not that she pried. She didn't think asking too many things would do anything other than possibly stress him out more, so she kept the question to herself. And she mostly stayed quiet all through finally getting him to his feet, and heading off to find someplace out of the rain... Well, this wasn't really out of the rain per say, but it was drier at any rate.

... Well, sort of drier.

Spirit bobbed her head a bit, trying to shake loose the wet tendrils of her bangs sticking (quite annoyingly) to her face, but it did little good other than freeing a few droplets from her collar and sending them crawling down the back of her neck and spine. She shivered slightly for the chill, her shoulder jostling painfully with the movement and she had to bite down hard on her cheeks just to stop herself from hissing in blind reaction. She grumbled silently under her breath as the initial spark of pain receded, but of course it just ended in a throb that had been there for some time now, and just kept getting a bit heavier.

Ugh... Again, so over it.

She tossed the thought away and pulled up a foot or two under the overhang where Sushi-Dude was, the single lightbulb shinning down over them both and highlighting them against an otherwise dark wall. There were no other lights besides that one, spare the street lights up the way she had just come down, and left behind a moment before. Sushi-Dude had settled down on the side of the building and away from the front, away from the cars, and any people braving the storm- and Spirit didn't argue. She was actually happy enough he'd stayed there while she went into the store that wall belonged to, and was still there when she came out and had what she needed- a little first aid kit, a pair of water bottles, some extra bandages, etc.

She'd told him she wanted to take a look at his injuries in order to make sure they weren't too bad, and clean him up a bit. It would have been better to do so inside, but she was wary of taking him anywhere, lest he not like the idea of it. So even if this was a little inconvenient with the rain, lighting, space, whatever, and not really that place for it- here would have to do.

"... Hey." Spirit murmured softly, the sound of her voice drawing his attention upward way too quickly, but at least he knew she was there before she tried to do anything else.

His eyes latched onto her, head popping up off his knees and fingers still fiddling with the ends of the jacket in his teeth, but he was focused more on her than on that the second she spoke up. He gave the bag she had a wary look for a moment, and for a moment Spirit didn't move... Before slowly she shifted a bit, setting the bag down on the curb not far from him and just ahead of her. She lowered herself into taking a seat on the curb with the bag between them, so it enforced some distance still, at least for now.

Spirit pulled the first aid kit out of the bag and set it down on the curb, taking out some alcohol wipes and other such things, before setting those down in a neat line along the raised cement too. Then she pulled both water bottles out, setting one down like everything else, before her red eyes moved up from her work toward Sushi-Dude. Who of which, was watching her hands and actions rather warily still, and especially so as she held the water bottle out toward him slightly. He hesitated half a second, unsure as to the gesture- after all he couldn't drink it with his jaw welded shut as it was, but she wasn't giving it to him to make him drink it right off.

Rather she just wanted him to take it, so he had it in his own space and could drink it when he was ready (or able), without having to ask her for it... Which he seemed to realized, since he swallowed hard, unlatching his fingers from around one end of the jacket and taking it from her ever so cautiously. He put the water bottle down slowly on the cement between his feet, shifting his knees a little from being pulled into his center while Spirit waited patiently for half a second to let him adjust the little he did, and then she picked up one of the alcohol wipes, tearing the top of the package it was in.

This she held out slightly for him to take too, and he faltered, looking even more unsure than he had with the water bottle, while the Ebony Hero's expression remained calm as ever.

"... For your hands and arms, to clean them up a bit." She told him quietly, "I can help you if you'd like, but if you'd prefer I didn't, I will let you do it instead." She murmured and he blinked, eyes dropping from hers and to her outstretched hand, frowning a little... But he nodded stiffly after a moment and took the alcohol wipe from her.

His attention turned toward himself as he forced his other hand to stop tugging at the zipper in his teeth, and start focusing on cleaning the cuts and things littering his flesh. Spirit pulled her hand back toward herself as he started, quiet in place as she let him work, red eyes tracing along the injuries that she was able to get a better gauge of with the blood gone, as well as the slightly shaky motion of his hands- which she bit the inside of her cheeks for.

She waited until he'd used the first alcohol wipe as much as it could be, then tearing open the packaging of another and holding it out for him in sheer silence. Just like the first he hesitated to take it, but there was a little less of that hesitation this time around, and less the next time she did it, and the fourth, and then fifth.

Spirit kept her mouth shut the whole time and his never opened either, nor did he spare her many glances outside of when she handed him something, and that was fine. She didn't want to push too much, and he did unwind a tiny bit as he put his attention on something a little more productive- which was perfect. She needed him to relax at least a little, once they moved on to the next, next part.

But first-

The next thing she handed his way was not another alcohol-infused cloth, but a band-aid instead. This time he faltered in surprise at it, rather than apprehension, and Spirit tilted his head toward him faintly, gesturing toward some smaller cuts running along his fingers.

"Use these on the smaller stuff." Spirit mumbled softly, and he blinked, before nodding stiffly and doing what he was told, taking the band-aid from her.

This continued like if had with the alcohol wipes, Spirit pulling out band-aids one by one for him to apply to the cuts and bruises that that weren't too big for a band-aid to be useful. And with each one Sushi-Dude's rigidity continued to melt bit by bit, and enough so that but the time there were no more wounds small enough a band-aid would work- Spirit was a little less uneasy about the next bit.

Hopefully he's less uneasy too-

"... You're gonna need some help with the rest of those." The Ebony Hero pointed out levelly and at length, her voice nothing but cool and soft, but even so he instinctively stiffened at the words.

-eh, maybe less... Just not all the way not uneasy... Oi.

"... If you're alright with it, I can bandage the rest up. And help clean up everything else you can't reach or see." Spirit kept on calmly, Sushi-Dude grimacing faintly, but not moving and inch for a moment... Which hey, at least he wasn't backing off or flinching away right off.

"I won't do anything you aren't comfortable with, alright? And if you don't want my help, that is fine... I just need to at least get a better look at the rest of your injuries, to make sure they aren't serious, okay?" Spirit murmured quietly, red eyes glittering in the dim and dingy overhead light, while Sushi-Dude still remained rather frozen in his spot for a few heartbeats more.

His eyes flicked away from her after a bit, hands moving up to tug faintly at the ends of the jacket in his teeth- but more as a nervous tick, rather than actively trying to pull it out of his mouth. He seemed to be debating with himself for a moment, grumbling lowly under his breath, before nodding his head once, and so very slowly. Spirit blinked at it, her head tilting faintly for that nod and not altogether sure what it was meant to convey...?

Was that a 'yes, you can help'?

Or just 'yes take a look, but don't touch'...?

She was about to ask and clarify, but she cut herself off before the words ever started to form on her tongue, because Sushi-Dude shifted suddenly, turning himself more toward her and adjusting to sit sort of cross-legged on the curb. He was facing her directly now and had even inched forward ever so faintly, his eyes down and not on her, but... It was almost definitely that first yes, which surprised her more than she expected it would.

(Not that she wasn't a little relieved, mind you)

He nodded one more time and barely so, a little bit of that sour look of his making a reappearance in place of suspicion and unease, and Spirit let out a quiet breath. She nodded faintly herself and shifted slightly, red eyes glinting in the dim and eyes moving off him briefly.

"Alright, give me a minute." The Ebony Hero mumbled quietly, earning Sushi-Dude's eyes and slightly confused expression at the words- though she never saw the look itself, since she had by then diverted her attention to something else.

Spirit sat up slightly, shrugging her jacket off her right shoulder and pulling it around to slip her left arm from the sleeve, before dropping it down on to the curve beside her. She then moved to start fiddling with the strap of the sling her right arm was in, biting the inside of her cheek when a dull stab of pain ran through her shoulder upon getting it loose and she started to pull it out from the fabric altogether. She didn't pause for it though, she kept up with getting it all the way off regardless of the throb and ache that amped up the moment the little bit of support was gone. And she was about to set it on top of where her jacket was, but a distinct sound of something clicking... Or rather popping caught her attention, and she froze a little in surprise.

What the hell was that... that wasn't my shoulder was it? But it didn't hurt-?

Her eyes cast right, confused still and unsure. She saw Sushi-Dude staring at her from the corner of her eye, and more importantly- she saw his mouth had dropped open and the zipper that had been pinned in his teeth had fallen again, released.

Spirit blinked, red eyes flashing in the dim and brow quirking a little in question and surprise both. Sushi-Dude was still staring at her even as she glanced his way, his grey eyes latched to her arms rather than her face, and he even seemed to lag a little- for a few seconds not at all noticing or seeming to care his jaw had unhinged at last. He was just frowning now, looking a little perturbed or something like it, and Spirit paused, totally not sure what the look was for, or the sudden shift in mood, or stall in the lock-jawed nervousness either.

After nearly half an hour of seemingly struggling to get his mouth open at all, now all of a sudden it did unlock, and with seemingly no rhyme or reason, or even a reaction from the kid for it?

She wanted to question it immediately, but she didn't dare. She wouldn't risk saying anything, lest mentioning it just make him nervous again and start the whole lock-jaw ordeal over. So she let it be and looked away, continuing what she was doing.

... ooookay...

She dropped the sling down where she'd put her jacket and started digging in the first-aid kit again, pulling out what she needed next and biting down on her cheeks to keep herself from flinching or anything as the throbbing got a little heavier in her shoulder. You know, since she was moving her right arm now much more than she had the last few days.

But I don't have a choice, I can't do this one handed

Spirit looked up again, a roll of gauze in hand and red eyes flashing as she glanced toward him and caught his gaze this time. "Can I see your hands, please?" The Ebony Hero asked quietly and he seemed to swallow, before ever so slowly extending his hands her way, close enough she had easy reach to him, though he seemed a little hesitant to give those last few inches. But he did, and no sooner than he had did his grey eyes flick down and away from her again, stiff as can be and unmoving, waiting.

Spirit reached forward, her hands moving carefully as she started to wind the gauze and bandages around the larger wounds that had gone uncovered. She did her best to do it as quick as she could manage, and limit as much direct contact or hold on him, since he was clearly not thrilled with it- though he didn't pull away or argue.

It didn't take long to finish with his hands, and less time afterward to get done with the injuries running up both his arms. She mumbled a few words to say she was done with that and he pulled his arms back in toward himself near as soon as she did it, frowning faintly to himself still, his eyes watching her hands the whole time and never moving from them for even a second.

Spirit replaced the bandages and things back in the kit and pulled out the alcohol again, looking up slowly and pausing, sighing internally to herself. He seemed to realize what the pause was for- naturally so, since all that was left to do anything with was concerning those wounds on his face, and he audibly swallowed.

"... I'm sorry." Spirit mumbled quietly, and he stiffened at the apology, freezing a moment and eyes stuck down. "I really would leave you be if I could, but we don't really have much choice at the moment... You are pretty beat to hell, ya know." The Ebony Hero told him softly. He grimaced at it, gritting his teeth a little and silent for a few seconds more, before shaking his head once, and stiffly.

He moved, leaning in a little and placing his hands down slowly on the cement between them for leverage as he bent himself over a bit to draw his face more level with her own. He flinched a little in the middle of doing it though, presumably because folding over like that agitated what she had already guessed were some bruised or broken ribs. But even despite the tiny hitch in the motion he still kept going until he was fairly well eye-level with her, and down low enough she had an easier time reaching up to start working- you know, since he was taller than her by a fair bit.

Spirit blinked at it, red eyes glittering in the dim and a little taken aback with the sudden gesture. She winced a little internally herself for the show of pain from him, but even that got overshadowed by the fact that he'd cut the distance between them so suddenly by quite a bit. And he did all of his own accord, and without really seeming super tense about it either... Well, no worse of a tense than he'd been the whole time.

"... It's... Fine..." Sushi-Dude mumbled slowly and at length, his eyes fixed to the side and on the wall they were butted up against, instead of on the Pro. "... I get it... Just... Go for it..." He mumbled lowly and Spirit faltered for half a second, before nodding slowly.

"Alright... This'll sting." Spirit mumbled quietly, and he nodded faintly, and only that. So Spirit started in, stiffening herself against the flash of pain that ran through her shoulder upon lifting her hands to his face- but thankfully it wasn't that bad, given he'd bent down quite a lot- so she kept herself from reacting outwardly

This time her work, which had already been done with nearly deft hands, was almost so light he could hardly feel it at times, and it caught him incredibly off guard. It didn't seem possible, yet she was definitely doing it... It almost made him wonder if he'd gotten so beat up he'd ended up going numb or something- but a consistent prickle of pain from the alcohol and what pressure she had no choice to but to put on made that idea a bust. But he didn't get how she could make it seem so easy to do that. He didn't get how light she could keep her hands and still keep doing what she was as effectively as she was. And more so he didn't get how expertly she could be doing any amount of helping clean him up and bandage up the cuts and bruises with her own hands looking a mess.

He'd noticed it two days ago when they'd bumped into one another at the Quick-Mart (again! A PRO at the Quick-Mart!). He'd taken immediate note of the cuts running over the flesh of her hands, which seemed mostly glued together- and now were bruising on the edges where he caught glimpses of her hands in front of him. And now knowing about her being a Pro, he realized those cuts were likely all up her arms too (though her long-sleeves prevented him from seeing)- and that was on top of her arm being in a sling.

A sling she took off now so she could use both hands to help him, though doing that was probably a terrible idea just from an injury/medical standpoint. Not that she seemed concerned with it, or even seemed like it was bothering her... But it had to be, yeah..?

The younger glanced away from the wall and toward the Ebony Hero slowly, grimacing faintly to himself as his attention moved from her hands and toward her face instead. She was as calm and as neutral as one could possibly be, never catching his eyes even for a moment or changing focus from what she was doing, and certainly not showing any discomfort of the like.

The younger swallowed a little for it, grey eyes flashing in the dim and wilting ever so faintly despite himself.

... Maybe... It wasn't actually... Bothering her then...?

He just... couldn't tell.

I can never tell with people... Tch.

After a few minutes of her working away in sheer silence, Spirit's hands pulled back for the last time and she nodded once.

"I'm done." The woman murmured softly, her red eyes dropping to the first-aid kit and the other supplies she'd pulled out as she started to put them away. Sushi-Dude straightened up from having leaned over slowly, his hands shifting off the concrete and into his lap as he pushed himself back from her half an inch or so. He paused again, silently watching what she was doing while one hand moved up absentmindedly to his own face to prod lightly at the bandages sticking to his cheeks and over his nose.

The lid of the first-aid kit made a faint snap as she closed it, Spirit glancing up slowly toward him again and sighing silently to herself for a moment. His eyes were still down and not on her, fingertips still brushing faintly against the bandages as he frowned to himself, little hints of that ever sour expression of his persisting even now.

She wasn't actually done done, she still had something else she needed to check on with him, and she needed to hash out what had gone on too- though doing either wasn't all that appealing at the moment. She was pretty sure neither of them were gonna do anything other than make him more tense and worked up, and she didn't want to do that- but again, she really had little choice.

"... speaking of being beat to hell, you seem rather... sore." Spirit started slowly after a moment, the sound of her voice making him stiffen a little, his eyes darting her way warily and the sourness of his face getting a little firmer, while Spirit just stayed calm as can be. She tilted her head slightly his way, red eyes flicking over his center for a moment while he pulled his arms in closer to himself, grimacing. "You might have some broken or cracked ribs." Spirit pointed out coolly, but he shook his head at the comment rather sharply, and right away.

"... They ain't broken or anything, just bruised." He muttered lowly and Spirit paused, blinking slowly at how quick an answer it was, and just how sure he sounded of it.

No hesitation, no uncertainty, and it didn't sound like him simply avoiding the topic or trying to skimp over it. It was firm and to the point, and nearly sounded like fact- like he just knew.

She swallowed, biting the inside of her cheek against what any amount of surety for such a statement likely entailed.

"... You sure?" She asked slowly and he nodded once, which made her chew on her cheeks even harder, but she had to let it go.

(Though yet another of already a dozen or so red flags went up in the back of her mind regardless)

"Alright, but let me know if it starts getting hard to breathe, or if the pain gets worse." Spirit murmured, her voice level, though it took more to keep it that way this time around. Sushi-Dude hesitated, but nodded once faintly in sign he heard the words, so Spirit forced herself a silent sigh.

Now, moving on-

"So, from what I managed to hash out from before was that you stepped in when those guys were bothering that woman, hmm?" Spirit murmured next, steering the subject away to the slightly more pressing issue of the evening, and the one that had landed her here with the kid in the first place- as a sort-of 'favor' to Manual.

Manual, who of which she had called briefly before going in the store to get the supplies and basically said something to the effect of 'I found him and I'll handle his report and everything myself, don't worry about it'. The Normal Hero had sounded quite unsure on the other end when she said it, but he didn't argue much either way. Which was great, because this was definitely something she ought to handle herself, since she was pretty sure trying to hand Sushi-Dude off to the Police or another Pro would likely just make things harder all around. And it might even make him bolt again, which would not be great... But anyway-

"I've run into one of them before in a similar situation, so I wouldn't be surprised if that was what was going on now." Spirit went on calmly, her elbows falling against her knees and she pulled them in a little closer to herself. Her head tilted slightly, watching him quietly as he seemed to grumble a little to himself. "So, were you trying to get them to leave her alone, and it escalated into a brawl from there?" She asked quietly and he grimaced some more, his hands curling into fists in his lap as he nodded stiffly, and only once.

"... Tch... They just wouldn't back the hell off." Sushi-Dude muttered sharply and almost under his breath, shark-like teeth grinding as the sour look on his face deepened in his sudden spur of annoyance and anger for the thought. "... All they had to do was quit..." He grumbled lowly, his brow furrowing and hands clenching tighter still. Spirit blinked slowly, her eyes narrowing a tad and biting the inside of her cheek for a moment- debating on what she was gonna say next;

"... Did you throw the first punch, or was it one of them?" Spirit asked slowly and he went rigid for the inquiry, eyes wide and staring down at his hands in his lap as he seemed to freeze for a moment. He frowned rather deeply for the question, and this time there was quite a big pause of silence to follow- Spirit sighed.

The Ebony Hero adjusted, turning from facing him and to facing the road and rain ahead instead, her back leaning against the wall now and crossing her arms slightly, dropping them in the crook between her chest and her knees. Her eyes landed on the wall of rain just a few inches ahead of them and stayed there this time, shaking her head once and faintly.

"I'm not asking that to get you in trouble or anything, I'm just asking." She mumbled softly, her head tilting back to bump softly against the wall as her eyes dropped closed. "If you threw the first punch or no, that bit doesn't really matter with all the rest of it... I'm just wondering." She murmured softly, but Sushi-Dude grimaced at the reply, steel-grey eyes flashing as he grit his teeth harder.

"W-What the hell is that supposed to mean...?!" He hissed furiously, the sudden spark in anger making Spirit pause a moment, one eye cracking back open in surprise and shifting sideways toward him. He glared, the sour look on his face bumping up a few degrees and a little of that almost nasty aura that surrounded him that first day they'd met popping up too- and Spirit wasn't sure why...?

"F-First of all, why the hell do you assume I started it...?!" He snapped lowly, "A-and second, even if I did punch first, you... You're a Pro, how the hell can you hear that and not care, o-or get me in trouble...?!" He hissed and Spirit blinked, brow quirking at it and head tilting faintly in his direction.

"... I don't assume you started it, that's why I asked." She started slowly, "And if you did, it's not that you won't be in trouble- you just won't be in a lot of trouble. The worst that'll happen at this point is you getting reprimanded... And I'll be the one doing the reprimanding." She told him and he stiffened at that,

"B..but... Ain't you supposed to answer to the police or something..?!" He hissed and Spirit sighed, looking away again.

"Technically yes, but I'm not gonna bother taking you to the police." The woman told him calmly, and he looked even more disgruntled for it... Though maybe that was just his way of looking surprised?

I don't know, but anyway-

"I can just take your statement myself and we can leave it at that. The police in Shinjuku are a little more lax on crime reports than in other places, so they won't really care if I tell them what happened, or if you did it yourself." Spirit went on, "Besides, the woman you stepped in for already made it clear that you were just trying to help her out. Even if it ended up up a fight, your intentions were more or less justified... and more so given how much they beat you up versus how much damage you did to them." Spirit explained lowly and he frowned ever more deeply, his eyes falling from her and onto his clenched fists in his lap instead. For a heartbeat or two it was nothing but silence, before Spirit heard Sushi-Dude let out a little grumble.

"... The guy I bit threw the first punch..." He mumbled lowly and Spirit nodded once, looking away again for a moment.

"Alright... But how hard you bit that guy is a bit of an issue." Spirit murmured, and Sushi-Dude stiffened a little more at the mention of it. "I heard you chomp down, I'd be surprised if you didn't fracture his arm... And that's discounting how much you tore up his skin and whatever else." She commented quietly and he growled under his breath, clicking his tongue a little and turning from her entirely- pushing his back up against the wall like she had and huffing. Spirit cast him a sideways glance as he did it, sighing silently to herself.

... Touchy...

"You really can't bite people." The Ebony Hero murmured simply and he growled at it. "Doesn't matter if it was self-defense or that they probably deserved it- you did a lot of damage, and since I assume that's because of your Quirk, that makes you biting him a little worse... Given all the laws against public use of Quirks without a proper license." Spirit mumbled softly,

Though those laws can be a little unfair, given the situation.

Like this one, for example.

Spirit glanced sideways slowly, Sushi-Dude pulling his knees in closer to his chest and arms wrapping around them tightly as he stuffed his chin and mouth into the top of his knees... Almost like he was hiding his mouth entirely, and Spirit let out a quiet breath. Her eyes moved back ahead of her, trailing the little blips of light reflecting off the rain still pouring in front of them, and so close the chill was heavy.

"Hmm, like I said; I'm not bringing you to the police, so you're not gonna get in any big trouble for it... Not this time anyway." Spirit sighed, Sushi-Dude stiffening further at the words and eyes widening faintly as he shot her a quick and fleeting glance. "People can use their Quirks without Licenses if it's self-defense, or to spare themselves fatal injury for some reason or another. I'm pretty sure you fall into that category of 'fair use' given what went on today, so this is my reprimanding you for tonight, got it?" The Ebony Hero murmured lowly, Sushi-Dude swallowing slightly as her tone dropped ever so slightly. "And this is also me warning you. You can't go chomping on people anymore, kid. One of these days you're gonna end up getting in real trouble." Spirit told him lowly and his shoulders hunched a little for it, his face falling a little further behind his knees and arms, but he nodded slowly anyway.

Spirit hummed a bit under her breath to see it out of the corner of her eye, nodding a little herself before she tilted her head back and took in a deep breath.

"... Alright... that's the end of me scolding you." Spirit mumbled quietly, a hint of weariness making it's way into her voice now. "Are you okay?" She asked next and he jumped a little at it, eye twitching and almost dumbfounded for a second.

"...o.. okay...?" He mumbled, and Spirit nodded faintly, her eyes closed.

"Mhmm. I never actually asked, which is my bad, but I'm asking now." The Ebony Hero murmured, her head tilting slightly in his direction, one eye cracking open halfway and glittering pale copper-scarlet in the dirty light overhead.

"So, are you okay?"

Sushi-Dude froze for a minute as he caught the look, lips pulling into a tight line and almost not sure what to do with the question... And it wasn't a hard question, but it might as well have been the hardest question in the world for him to process at that moment.

And why was it so hard to process?

He frowned, swallowing hard at the thought and looking away from her hotly, hating the way his stomach churned violently all of a sudden and the way his core even... Ached.

"..t-tch... I'm fine." He growled lowly, his voice so full of anger and bitterness all of a sudden. Spirit blinked, her face falling for a moment at it, before nodding once and deciding it was better not to press it... But hell if her own stomach didn't churn a little too, and she bit down on the inside of her cheek as she forced herself to look away again.

Shit

Spirit pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket with her left hand, tapping the screen to life for just a moment to read the time;

11:26 pm

The Ebony Hero let out an inaudible sigh, locking the screen again and casting the screen of rain directly ahead of her a weary glare.

It's late, it's cold, it's raining, and I don't think it's gonna let up anytime soon either... Of course not, why would it?

I really cannot catch a break. Like ever.

Spirit looked right again slowly, eyes narrowing to slits and chewing pensively on the insides of her cheeks to see Sushi-Dude had buried his entire face in his arms and against his knees by now, shoulders hunched and absolutely rigid... But not without a faint tremor here and there, small shivers slowly working their way through him from the chill and the fact that he was a little soaked.

Despite Spirit's quick efforts to get them somewhere more dry, they'd both gotten quite the downpour on the way here regardless. And here wasn't exactly dry, like she had said. There was a constant mist washing up to hit them in the face, and that was gonna end up soaking them even worse than standing in the actual rain.

Spirit frowned faintly to herself for the thought, red eyes flashing as she saw a few of the stuck up strands of Sushi-Dude's hair start to wilt as the water pulled them down.

No, I never can catch a break, at all... Ugh, damn me

"The rain isn't gonna let up for awhile, so we probably ought to get you home." Spirit murmured, breaking the silence that had fallen and causing him to jump a little at the sound of her voice. He looked up slowly, his head pulling away from his knees and peeking over his arm toward her warily- but Spirit wasn't looking at him just then, she'd turned her attention on picking up her jacket and the sling with it.

Spirit bit down on the inside of her cheek as she folded the sling up in her lap as tightly as she could manage, stuffing it into a jacket pocket instead of putting it back on, and then moved to slowly start and maneuver her right arm into the sleeve. Given it was already fairly wet and so was she, it wasn't exactly an easy thing to do- and the minute she started trying she felt the throbbing sharpen to something more like being stabbed.

Owwwww, fucking hell I hate dislocating my goddamn shoulder I swear to-!

"S-Stop you idiot..!"

Spirit froze, heart skipping a beat for the sudden (and rather loud) order out of nowhere- and from Sushi-Dude of all people.

She glanced his way again slowly, brow quirking and quite taken aback by how forceful the order was- and that last bit?

Did he just... Call me an idiot..?

He was glowering now, all of that same totally sour face and looking like he wanted to murder her from that first time they had met was back again, and with a bit of a fervor. And just like then, that look would have sent nearly anybody scurrying away in fright, but Spirit didn't even really register the almost looming demeanor of it all, she just blinked.

"... Excuse me...?" She deadpanned lowly and the younger faltered a little at the question, catching himself almost as if he'd said and started acting like that without really meaning to. He almost looked like he was about to flinch back and away from her, unease and even little hints of fear flashing in his eyes for but a moment at the question- before it was gone just as fast, and he shook his head sharply.

"Y-You're making me wince just watching you try and put the damn jacket on, quit it...!" Sushi-Dude muttered sharply, the order sounding a tad more firm this time around and Spirit paused, eyes narrowing.

"... What the hell else would you rather I do instead? Walk in the rain without a jacket on?" The Ebony Hero mumbled lowly, a tiny flare of agitation for being bossed around and called an idiot making her voice a little less than the calm she had been trying to keep it the whole time.

"No! Just-!" He hissed back reflexively, before faltering for a moment and catching himself again. He broke off, grumbling under his breath for a heartbeat or two while Spirit blinked slowly at it. His hands fidgeted in his lap, hitching almost like he meant to move them but couldn't bring himself to it, and eventually after trying and failing a few times he huffed and glanced away from her entirely, grinding his teeth.

"... Forget it..." He muttered lowly and Spirit hesitated, her eyes narrowing further in question and uncertainty for the rather rapid-fire shifts in demeanor and everything.

...Oookay...

She shook her head once and looked away, chewing on the inside of her cheek a touch irritably for a heartbeat or two, before sighing and deciding to quit with the threading her arm through the sleeve.

Whatever... It wasn't going well anyway.

And even if I don't get why he got so agitated all of a sudden, I guess I can just quit.

She snaked her left arm through with considerably less effort, tugging the other shoulder over her right and letting it lay there, and as secure as it could possibly be. Then she picked everything else up off the cement, putting all back away in the plastic shopping bag it had previously been in.

With another sigh the Ebony Hero pushed herself onto her feet slowly, leaning back against the wall for leverage as she did so and Sushi-Dude watching her warily the whole way through. Spirit shifted the handles of the plastic bag a little in hand once she was up, before glancing down his way again, her left hand extending his way ever so slightly.

"Do you need a hand up?" She asked softly, echoing the same question again from when she had done it after tracking him down before. He blinked once, his eyes falling on the hand she'd inched just a little toward him and swallowing. He shook his head stiffly and only twice, Spirit letting out a silent sigh for it but letting it be, her hand falling back to her side and silent. She waited patiently for him to get to his feet, him being a little slower about than she was and grumbling as he did it- he was clearly feeling the beating he'd taken, but he rather stubbornly did his best not to show it too much. Which didn't work very well, but he still tried.

He got all the way up, one hand holding to his ribs gingerly while the other had yet to move off the wall after using it for a bit of leverage. He grit his teeth hard, a barely-muffled hiss escaping him as he paused for a heartbeat once he was nearly up all the way, hesitant to straighten out at first, but he did eventually. And he did manage to steady himself quite well, but he also sort of blanched once he was up on his feet all the way, and a slightly more violent tremor born of a shiver ran through his body, making him hiss. Spirit bit the inside of her cheek for it, her eyes narrowing to slits and watching him warily as he sucked in a shallow and slightly shaky breath of air. He ended up holding that breath in for awhile, as if doing so was meant to help steady him again, and Spirit waited, tensely.

"... You okay?" Spirit asked softly once he'd settled again, and he nodded stiffly in reply, but nothing else. Spirit nodded once and glanced back up the way toward the street, "Alright, I'll call us a cab. It might take a few minutes to get here, but we won't get soaked as much than if we just walk." Spirit murmured next, pulling her phone out of her coat pocket and oblivious to the very uneasy look she earned from Sushi-Dude for the words.

"W-we...?!" He stammered quickly, the question stalling the tapping of Spirit's fingers against the phone screen for a moment. She shot him a look and he frowned, shaking his head stiffly at her. "I d-don't need a cab, a-and I definitely don't need to be seen back, I'm not a kid...! I can walk back myself!" He hissed quickly and Spirit paused, red eyes flashing.

Truthfully he was still a kid, even if being 18 as he said technically made him an adult in the eyes of the law and government and whatever- but 18 wasn't that old. And with that, as well as how beat up he was, she wasn't super comfortable with just letting him run off on his own... Least of all with all those red flags that had cropped up in her mind during the whole of their meeting and interaction together.

He was extremely wary, extremely uneasy and unwanting of personal contact or anything of the sort, and extremely distrusting too. He basically flinched away from her any time she had moved in his general direction, he couldn't keep his eyes up and on her for very long, and he definitely had a hard time keeping any sort of conversation going. What he did say- such as when he'd snapped at her a bit before- he quickly second-guessed himself and shut up, almost like he was afraid what he said would land him in hot water. And it'd even somehow lead to a bit of a nervous tick or whatever earlier when his jaw had snapped shut and he couldn't get it open again.

All of that, mixed with how sure he was about his ribs being bruised or broken just made her a little more sure something was not right. Now, whether that was a not right with where he lived, without someone he knew, or maybe he just fought a lot more than just today, or perhaps even something else totally different- all of those possibilities made her hesitate on just walking away.

But... she had told him she would leave him be if that was what he really wanted, and she had meant it. She didn't want to make him any more uncomfortable than she had, and she didn't want to pressure him or force him into something he wasn't okay with.

But how far was her trying to tread lightly really supposed to go, before it got in the way of her doing what she was supposed to, as a Pro?

She was supposed to keep an eye on people, and help them when they were in a bad way or a less than desirable situation, right? It was her job not to let things go and turn a blind eye when something was wrong, wasn't it...?

But... Is this really my place, even as a Pro Hero?

She wasn't sure either way, so she hesitated, and a part of her hated that she did.

Technically, no... If what I'm thinking is even remotely true, it's probably more the police's place than mine.

And even then, I could be reading all of it totally wrong too.

I haven't been around this kid for more than an hour at best, I really don't know him.

That was rational, she knew it was... So why did her stomach churn all the same?

Spirit sighed heavily and mostly under her breath, resisting the urge to shake her head at herself, and instead nodding just once.

"Alright." The Ebony Hero relented quietly and Sushi-Dude stiffened at it, grey eyes going wide and jaw dropping a little in sheer surprise. "If you would really rather head home by yourself, I'm not gonna argue and force you to let me come with you." She murmured, looking a tad uneasy for a moment as she shot the street a weary look. "Though it is rather late, and I would feel better making sure you get home alright... I'm not gonna push it. But please be careful, will you? And don't get into any more fights for awhile, alright?" She asked quietly, glancing his way again and red eyes steady as they matched with his. "And if you start feeling worse, or something isn't right, you should either go to the hospital or call someone for help." Spirit went on calmly, and he stiffened a little at the words, grey eyes flashing. He faltered slightly when some little portion of her expression changed as she said those words- something he couldn't place- but it did set him slightly on edge, and send a shiver running down his spine.

But she sighed and her expression changed back to nothing but calm and slightly weary again, and he swallowed.

"Be careful on your way home." She murmured, "And if you change your mind about grabbing that cab with me, you can come back. It won't be here for awhile." She added softly and his face fell a little further in surprise for it, eyes flashing and quite frankly- stunned.

How could she go from seemingly (at least as close as he could describe it) almost staring straight into his soul, and then right back to calm and sincere and so... So unbelievably nice...?

Nice enough to offer him a ride still should he change his mind- and it wasn't just a ride, at least not entirely. In a way it was sort of like she was holding a hand out for him to take, and that little gesture meant more than she probably even realized... Her being the way she had been the whole time meant more than she could have ever realized, actually.

She had been nice the whole time, and it made sense she would be, right? She was a Pro Hero, it was their job to look after people and be all helpful, shining, motivated, cheery, bright and just generally very people-friendly and sunshine-y, yeah?

They were Pros, they weren't regular people. They burned bright, stood tall, and were kind of untouchable in some ways... Right?

So why the hell was Animal Spirit so nice and very Pro-like, but still so freakin' normal all at the same time? She was being nice but she wasn't... uh, you know; burning bright like a beam of sunshine. She was much more mellow than that. Very much so.

She was being nice, but she was quiet about it, in a way. She was calm and slow and very much understanding really, but it didn't come off as that sort of radiant chivalry or whatever one would expect of a Pro. And sure, she'd kinda been treading lightly, and a little bit of that helpful kindly Pro-Hero vibe showed through when he'd chomped down on his zipper and couldn't let go- but after that?

Honestly if he didn't know who she actually was, he would never really peg her as a Pro Hero with how she was being around him. More likely he'd have figured she was just some random girl who'd stuck her nose in his business for some reason, or maybe actually just wanted to help for no good reason other than to be kinda nice... To him.

Hell, that's what he'd pegged her as when they met in the Quick-Mart that first time, you know? Some random girl who'd decided, for whatever reason, to actually be a little nice toward him. Which was kinda weird at the time, and he thought it was a little weird even now, but still. She was acting like a normal person, and he didn't really get it, or know what to do with it.

He swallowed hard, grey eyes glittering slightly as he ground his teeth together a bit in frustration, nervousness and uncertainty all put into one. For a few seconds that lasted way too long he could do nothing but stand there, Spirit's eyes steady on him the whole time and he felt his stomach start doing a million more flips than it had already begun doing the moment of getting to his feet in the first place.

Just... I don't get it...... She's so weird... tch.

He shook his head stiffly, stuffing his hands in his pants pockets turning sharply on his heel. He started off, walking in the direction away from the main road without a word, shoulders hunched and face all sour-looking once again.

Spirit jumped faintly when he turned and started to walk off with absolutely no warning, the Ebony Hero wilting slightly as he stepped out of the overhang and into the rain in full. He'd stuffed his hands in his pockets so roughly- almost agitatedly so- and he didn't seem willing to pull them back out again, not even to pull the hood of his jacket up and ward off some of the rain. No, he just kept walking, stiffly and silent as can be while his shoulders stayed hunched the whole way through, his hair already dripping in moisture and the rest of him steadily getting more and more soaked. Spirit let out a weary breath, biting the inside of her cheek faintly.

Well that went well-

With only a few steps to go before reaching the end of the building, Sushi-Dude came to a sudden and complete stop, the action breaking Spirit's thoughts off and her eyes widening in surprise and confusion. Especially so for the way his shoulders hunched more, and he almost seemed to... fidget?

-what the hell is he..?

The Ebony Hero jumped, blinking several times over as Sushi-Dude turned sharply on his heel for a second time, and then promptly scurried back up the road the way he had come. He stopped again back under the overhang where Spirit stood, completely soaked now even from the incredibly short excursion, eyes stuck down and with a shaky, nervous sort of frown on his face that distorted the otherwise sour look. Spirit faltered, her head tilting as he seemed to shift nervously on his feet beside her, shivering slightly though he tried to not let it show too much, and absolutely fidgeting.

Uh...?

"I... I'll take the cab..." He mumbled, his voice hushed and only at the minimum volume needed to actually be heard. Spirit stiffened in surprise at the words though, her face falling flat in shock.

S-Seriously? What the hell changed his mind...?

She hadn't a clue, and the whole thing was really freakin' weird truth be told- to stomp off like that only to whip around and come right back? To be so adamant on going back by himself, to so quickly alter that attitude and agree to go with her instead?

I don't get it...?

She forced herself a silent breath, shaking herself out faintly and deciding to just let it be- I mean this is kinda what I wanted, yeah? To see him home myself, just in case?

It was, but still... this kid is a little odd.

But again, not gonna question it.

Spirit shook her shock off the rest of the way and nodded once, Sushi-Dude aware of the little gesture though he didn't break his eyes off the ground again.

"Alright."

Spirit turned her attention back to her phone, calling up a cab shortly and the placing the device back in her pocket once she was done. They fell into quiet, the Ebony Hero leaning against the wall with her back and Sushi-Dude to her right, rigid in his spot for the first few minutes before eventually wilting out of his stiff posture and leaning himself against the wall too, then a touch heavily after the minutes stretched on. Spirit cast him a faintly uneasy glance from the side that he never saw, the Ebony Hero easily able to see the exhaustion getting clearer in his face after awhile. Which was fair enough of course, since he'd gotten the shit kicked out of him, but it wasn't just tiredness there. There were little bits of pain there too, and even something else she couldn't quite place- plus he was shivering still, and a little more once the chill of getting soaked settled in deeper into his bones.

Spirit looked up toward the road for any sign of headlights approaching, biting down on the inside of both her cheeks pensively as she did it.

Of course it's probably gonna be another ten minutes at least for that cab-

"... Miss Animal... Spirit..."

Spirit blinked, her attention darting off the road and back toward her right at the sound of Sushi-Dude's voice out of nowhere, hushed and nearly so low the drone of the rain drowned it out. But she heard it nonetheless and looked around quickly, perking slightly as she glanced up toward him- only to stiffen when she realized he'd slid down the wall far enough the height difference between them had been rendered nothing. He was eye-level with her for half a second as she turned around, and then he started to slide the rest of the way down the wall not a second later, Spirit's heart leaping into her throat.

"H-hey!" Spirit hissed, bristling and reaching out for him in blind reaction to try and slow his sudden loss in posture. Though of course her knee-jerk reaction to grab him just ended in overextending her right arm, and she cringed rather badly halfway through it- and only just barely managed to grab under his arm and shoulder with her left hand before he was down all the way. She grit her teeth hard, stifling the hiss of pain rising in her throat that followed a very unpleasant sort-of muscle tearing sensation that followed, and all the while doing her best to slow Sushi-Dude down even a little as he sank (or rather nearly crashed) into sitting on the curb. She almost stumbled when she got tugged down a little by his weight, but she just managed to keep her feet, and Sushi-Dude even did his best to slow himself down a little too.

He shuddered a bit, folding in on himself slightly and arms crossed around his center, hugging himself as he leaned forward into his knees, his face now a few shades whiter than it had been heartbeats beforehand. Spirit grimaced, red eyes glittering like mad in the dim as she dropped down into sitting on the balls of her feet just next to him, her left hand still firmly around his arm, and panic and unease rushing through her like a goddamn bullet train.

Shit shit shit shit-

He shivered harshly, sucking in a shuddering breath of air and then holding it, his face twisting in discomfort as his forehead hit his knees. He hugged himself a little tighter and let out a low groan,

"... U-ugh... I... I feel like I'm... gonna... hurl..." He muttered lowly, sounding slightly breathless as he did so, since he was trying to avoid actually breathing too much just then. Though it really did him no good, because just about as soon as he finished getting the words out he shuddered again, much more violently than the time before it, and he quickly pushed himself out of being hunched over and leaned to the side away from where Spirit was. His right hand fumbled as it fell on the curb for support and Spirit's hold on his left arm got a bit firmer, steadying him as his whole body lurched, and he started retching onto the concrete.

Spirit frowned, her lips pulling into a thin line and her own stomach working itself into knots as she shifted a little closer, curling her arm around his a little more steadily and her right hand moving up slowly to land on his back, even despite the protest her shoulder gave her for the movement. She stayed absolutely still as he continued to jerk in her hold until the last of what was in his stomach spattered against the soaked concrete, leaving him heaving and shaking worse than before by the end of it. She held on to him for as long as it took to catch his breath again, before gently tugging him back up from leaning away and more into sitting a little straighter, his face still only a few shades brighter than white and trembling like a leaf from cold, nausea, and whatever else combined. Spirit pushed up on his shoulder to get him into sitting up the rest of the way and leaning against the wall again- well, at least as much as he could keep his posture for it. Then she let her left hand move up toward his face, her right one on his arm now and red eyes flashing in the dim.

"Look at me for a minute." The Ebony Hero instructed quietly, her voice much more calm and mellow than how she felt inwardly- but hey, she was a Pro Hero, she was used to staying calm in awful situations.

Outwardly calm anyway

Sushi-Dude swallowed hard, a trembling breath escaping him as he did what she asked slowly, his grey eyes glassy now as he did his best to focus on her- though honestly she sounded and looked a little blurry to him. But maybe that was just cause of his eyes watering...?

He blinked a few times to try and ride the haziness, and it worked, letting him more clearly see the rather piercing way in which the Ebony Hero was watching him now.

"Did you hit your head earlier?" Spirit asked lowly, and though he hesitated half a heartbeat at the question, he was quick enough to register what she asked and shook his head no. And she was fairly willing to believe him on the point, given he was focused and alert enough to immediately reply, and his eyes seemed clear enough after he blinked a few times, swallowing hard. "Are you dizzy at all?" She asked next, and again he shook his head, his eyes dropping closed with a heavy, slightly shaky breath.

"... No just... Nauseous..." He mumbled, swallowing again and tilting his head forward, his hand finding the back of his neck wearily as he did his best to slow his breathing down again. And Spirit let him have a minute, her attention never leaving him for even an instant, and gritting her teeth slightly too... But he did settle a little more, and he even stopped shivering a little too while his face earned a few shades of the color it had lost.

For a minute she let her attention dart away from him and more toward her nose, her stomach curling slightly for the rather acrid scene of stomach bile still around even with the rain being quick to dilute it. But she ignored it and kept going, filtering out that particular smell and honing in on what was mixed with it- an even less pleasant mixture of sour blood, stale now, and definitely not his.

She'd figured that's what it was, but hell-

"... It's fine... I feel better now..." He mumbled after a minute or two, and Spirit huffed slightly under her breath.

"Hmph, well that's what happens when you bite somebody you know." The Ebony Hero grumbled, her voice mostly calm still, though a slightly agitated edge worked its way in regardless. Sushi-Dude stiffened faintly at it, glancing back up toward her with slightly narrowed eyes, confused.

Fucking hell

"Don't swallow so much of someone else's blood when you bite them." Spirit mumbled flatly, "It's a terrible idea even if it's just a little, and it's an even worse idea if you ingest a lot of it. Humans can't digest blood, not unless they have a Quirk that let's them. So of course you retched." She grumbled and he faltered, blinking slowly at the reply, and looking surprised.

"S-Seriously...?" He mumbled breathlessly and Spirit fought the urge to pull her hair out right then and there.

"Yes, seriously." Spirit muttered lowly, "Did none of your health or science teachers teach you a damn thing?" She asked a touch hotly, and he frowned, his eyes falling slightly and shoulders hunching.

"... Yeah, they taught us lots of stuff, but they never said anything about that..." He grumbled.

Oh of course not. Because why would it make sense to make sure kids know that they can get sick off of ingesting other people's blood?

That totally doesn't seem like the sort of information that might be helpful in a world full of children with wildly different Quirks- of which some might have to do with biting or possibly ingesting such a thing at some point in their lives.

Spirit grit her teeth for the thought and shook her head, forcing herself a sigh and doing her best to settle what amount of unease and quickly rising annoyance was swirling about in her core.

Now is not the time to be annoyed with that

Sushi-Dude swallowed again, hard enough she heard it and he shivered one more time, his posture wilting a little as he did. Clearly even throwing up what he had already wasn't enough to make him feel 100% okay, despite what he had said, and Spirit bit the inside of her cheek at it.

"Are you gonna be okay to get up?" Spirit asked after a minute or two, the Ebony Hero leaning back onto her heels a bit more than leaning toward him, though she made no move to stand just yet. "The cab is gonna be here soon, we should probably head toward the street." She mumbled, and Sushi-Dude seemed to grimace faintly, but he nodded stiffly anyway.

"I'll be fine." He muttered lowly, and though Spirit didn't quite believe it, she didn't argue. She just stayed close, her left hand still wrapped lightly around his arm as he slowly adjusted and started to push himself into his feet again, while she followed suit. He got all the way up eventually, leaning against the wall for support for most of it, and once or twice his weight in Spirit's hold got a little heavier, but not by much. He was doing his best not to pull on her much, very aware of the contact of her hand on his arm, but for now he didn't pull away from her or anything.

Spirit's hold on his arm lifted once he was up and sort of steady, though even just the act of gaining his feet had made him go a little paler again, and he looked ready to retch some more too. He kept it at bay however, stepping away from the wall out into the rain for a second time to head toward the street, Spirit stiff in her spot as he passed her at first, before she rounded to his right side and followed. Her left hand hovered off her hip as they started off, her attention stuck to him and wary for any little waver or sway in his movement- but the kid was stubborn about keeping his feet, she would give him that.

They ended up in front of the store, taking temporary shelter in the awning just above the front doors, the light from inside spilling out behind them and almost painful compared to the dim they'd been in for awhile. Spirit grit her teeth a little as they paused again, red eyes flashing as she glanced up at Sushi-Dude with the bright and significantly better light now- and it just made him look even more white-faced and terrible.

He looks like he's gonna keel over any second, and though he's definitely trying his best not to, he's still not steady by any means... Shit.

"You need to go to the hospital." Spirit mumbled lowly, the words making him go rigid immediately and his head to snap her way, grey eyes flashing and shark-like teeth gritting.

"N-Not a chance..!" He snapped instantly, "I am not going...! A-And you can't force me to either, I ain't a kid..!" He hissed, and Spirit's eye twitched slightly.

Well you're sure as hell acting like one-

"-technically I can't force you, no. But I can strongly recommend it." Spirit replied calmly- well... As calm as she could anyway, which was only barely. Despite her best efforts an edge worked it's way into her voice and it came out almost like a growl.

He stiffened further at the words however, grey eyes flashing as something other than stubbornness suddenly flitted across his face out of nowhere, and then he backed up a pace from her.

Spirit faltered, her eyes widening slightly while he looked away from her and toward the ground, his posture suddenly growing a little more closed off and a little defensive now too. She heard him suck in a sharp breath of air and hold it, eyes shutting tight as his shoulders hunched, his teeth gritting so hard she wouldn't have been surprised if his jaw had seemed to have wired shut like it had earlier. For a second or two he went quiet, Spirit standing where she was and her face falling for the sudden shift out of nowhere.

When he let out the breath he'd sucked in it was shallow, and it shook violently in his throat to boot- his breathing picking up to something a little faster, more breathless, and a little more frantic and uneasy. Just like earlier when he started to-

"... t..tch... I... I am not going..." Sushi-Dude stammered out, his voice wispy and shaking as much as his breathing had started to. His shoulders hunched more, hands in his pockets surely balled up tight, while his voice dropped further than it already had,

"... I... I can't.. J... Just... Please stop... L-leave it alone..."

Spirit swallowed, her heart skipping a tiny beat for what was nearly pleading now, and she felt her stomach knot a million times worse than it already had.

-this was just like earlier, when he started to freak out.

Hell, not even freak out but more border on having a panic attack. And for what?

Why in the hell would going to the hospital make him react like that...?

She didn't know, and she couldn't really make a guess or even fathom it either. I mean, Spirit didn't like hospitals any more than the next person, and she generally did her best not to go unless she had no other choice, sure- but she wasn't like this.

He seemed almost terrified of going

Spirit wilted slightly, her red eyes glimmering as she hesitated for a second or two and Sushi-Dude just stayed where he was, breathing a little too fast, a little too wound up, and looking like even more hell than he had a few moments ago.

Shit Spirit, you're really sucking at the treading lightly and not freaking the poor guy out... Tch.

She shook her head once, forcing herself a breath and her voice to actually be calm and level this time around.

"Alright, I'll stop." Spirit told him quietly, stuck where she was standing and not daring to take a step forward, lest it make him even more uneasy. She paused, biting the inside of her cheek pensively and giving it a heartbeat or two before she said anything else- and when she did her voice had dropped a little more than she intended it to, but she couldn't help herself.

Damn me

"... I'm sorry." The Ebony Hero apologized softly, her eyes moving off him and to the ground.

Sushi-Dude jumped faintly in surprise, glancing around quickly toward her again and stalling for a moment in his sudden surge of unease and whatever else for the apology.

He blinked a few times, slightly wide-eyed and stunned as he glanced the Pro's way, but she'd turned forward again and had her eyes on the ground and not him. And though he couldn't say for certain he knew what look was on her face now, since her expression had become almost unreadable- it almost looked tense, and close to being even sort of rueful. Like she was genuinely sorry, and not sorry in the pity sort of way, just a purely apologetic one. One where she knew well she was the one who had overstepped, and was not afraid to own up to it and voice an apology.

It... Was not a sort of look he was used to seeing on anybody, let alone a Pro Hero.

But he had little time to wonder more on it, or even really react. Headlights shinning out of the rain caught both his attention and Spirit's, a cab rolling to a stop on the curb just in front of them. Spirit cast him a small look from the side and tilted her head toward the idling car, motioning him ahead of her and he took the hint, starting forward stiffly and opening the door. They both settled in, Sushi-Dude scooting over to the opposite seat to give Spirit room, and she shut the door behind her.

"Where to?" The cab driver asked once they were both in, and Spirit tilted her head toward the man with a look at Sushi-Dude- another gesture for him to go ahead. The younger hesitated half a second, before nodding stiffly and scooting to the edge of his seat to get a little closer to the driver's ear, naming off an address in a slightly hushed voice. He earned a small nod from the driver in turn, but nothing else, and the cab fell into silence as Sushi-Dude settled back into his seat again and the car began to move off.

Sushi-Dude swallowed, slumping slightly more in his seat as the minutes ticked by, blurry lights moving sluggishly across the clouded and rain-clogged windows, the night-life of the Red Light District still in full motion even with the downpour flooding the streets. The cab wasn't super warm, and it kinda smelled off, but at least they were out of the rain, even if the water already soaking their persons were seeping into the seats and making that off smell just a tad worse. Sushi-Dude didn't notice the smell though, his attention was waning with each turn and bend the car took, his stomach churning the whole way through, and the chill from being wet making him shiver more still. And Spirit (for once) did not let any of her focus stay on her nose, her attention was constantly moving from watching the streets move by out the window and then over toward the red-head to her left.

She really wished he would have just relented and gone to a hospital, but given his reaction she wasn't sure it would do all that much more good than it could possibly do bad... hell.

I'm just gonna have to keep an eye on him till we get to wherever we're going

Spirit's eyes narrowed a tad as he leaned a little more with his shoulder into the door of the car, his eyes dropping halfway, weariness and discomfort oh so easy to see in his face.

... and definitely make sure he's actually sort of fine when he's home... if he'll even be sort of okay with that, anyway.

She sighed slightly to herself, her eyes moving slowly from him again and out the window, her breath fogging up the glass.

Today was totally fine for the most part, but of course I can't go an entire day without running into some other issue, hmm?

I think the universe might actually have something against me

The cab took another turn, the buildings surrounding becoming steadily a little more unkempt and looking less like shops and commercial buildings. But they didn't quite look much like apartments or houses either. More like big bulky cubes, and almost looking like old factories that had long since stopped being used as such.

Spirit blinked slowly, watching quietly through the window the sudden shift in scenery outside, and the lack of lights in just about any direction that came with it. The street lamps had thinned out significantly now, only cropping up every thirty or forty feet and sporting bulbs that cast only a weak, and very dim hazy yellow color downward.

She'd never really walked around the Red Light District for more than going to and from work, or over toward Heiku- but even in her wandering today she'd not strayed this way. And mostly because she was under the assumption there wasn't much here... .And it didn't seem there was, beside those big buildings that must have been mostly empty, and some of which were even getting overgrown and weed-ridden in places.

I suppose rent must be pretty cheap, since these aren't really... All that 'residential'...

They rounded another few corners, growing steadily a little further from the center of the Red Light District and more toward the fringes.

... Mmm, cheap as it might be, it is a bit of a farther walk from Heiku than I would be okay with.

The cab rolled to a stop along a barely lit street, stopping in front of one of those many large abandoned-looking buildings with no clear entrance facing the street, and a rusty and worn looking metal-rod fence surrounding the perimeter on either side before attaching to a small access gate. Spirit blinked, red eyes flashing in the dim as she gave it a quick once-over, before turning Sushi-Dude's way- only to find him already staggering out the car door and into the street. She jumped, calling out a quick 'wait' that went entirely unheard as the door shut behind him. Spirit growled under her breath, her eyes stuck to his lanky figure through the rain-spattered windows as he slowly made his way around the car with no intention of waiting.

Geez, he was quick to run off

She bit the inside of her cheek, hesitant for a few seconds while his blurry figure outside the cab got harder to see as he headed toward the access gate.

I get why he'd just wanna go in and be done with all this, he clearly still wasn't feeling great... But he didn't even say bye or anything.

And I was supposed to make sure he was really okay okay, but he doesn't seem keen on getting any more prodding from me... Ah shit

Spirit diverted her attention from the outside to the cab driver briefly, mumbling for him to please wait a minute before quickly pushing herself out of the car and back into the rain after him.

You are way too nice a person for your own good Spirit

.:+:.

Dismal grey-blue light filtered down lazily, seeping passed dirty and rain-soaked glass panes tiled overhead in numerous rows- many with dirt and other filth clogging their edges, some with cracks creeping along their faces, and a few boarded up or painted over in varying colors of paint. But whether dirty, boarded up, painted, or whatever else- there was no seeing the sky outside through the layer of fog and moisture clouding every single one of them. A million sections of cloudy haze kept vibrant and strong by the constant patter of rain tapping against the panes, the world outside trapped in the swathes of a storm that had been going for quite some time already, and still wasn't near done or looking to lift the chill it had brought down with it.

The cement floors and walls made of nothing but metal sheeting, and lacking any amount of real insulation, did nothing to help with the cold or keep it out. The air bit at his nose as he breathed in, icy fingers trying their hardest to make it passed the shield of the comforter over him and burrow it's way into his bones... Well, more of a chill than what faint and lingering coldness that was already in his core, and had made itself a permanent place even despite the blanket.

He blinked slowly, swallowing against the faint taste of bile still in the back of his throat. His stomach wasn't churning anymore, but it was sore... Hell, all of him was sore, though his ribs were more sore than anything else. And being that sort that of cold he'd mentioned, and with his clothes still sort of damp- the soreness had a special ache to it to boot. Of which, the lack of any sort of heating/cooling system in his 'apartment' didn't help eit-

He stalled, his breathing and thoughts doing the same as his still slightly groggy mind managed to really hone in on where he was, the fact that he was still in most of the clothes that'd gotten drenched in the rain, and that he had no recollection between getting out of the cab to being right there.

W-What the hell..?!

He jumped, scrambling slightly and tangling himself in the comforter as he rushed to shake it off, heart pounding now and his chest aching a little more for the sudden upright movement. He looked around quickly, scanning the familiar near-emptiness of the space and recognizing the sparse furniture, metal walls, glass roof, concrete floor- everything.

This was where he lived, but when did I..!?

His head snapped quickly from looking to his left and then over to his right, still trying to piece together what blank space there seemed to be in his memory of... Of last night? That day? What time is it even...?!

He paused, blinking several times over as his eyes darted to the ground just in front of him, and along the edge of the mattress he was sitting on. There in a neat line sat two water bottles, a bottle of some basic pain-relievers, and his jacket- which had (apparently) been taken off and folded there, with a little piece of paper on top that simply read;

'Drink plenty of water and take the pills'

He paused, a small fraction of the panic and unease subsiding as he read it, and a little more of the events came trickling back into the forefront of his mind.

He remembered most of it, and in fairly clear detail given how crazy the situation had turned after getting into that fight. The sudden appearance of Animal Spirit, a Pro he had already met a few days prior at the Quick-Mart without realizing it, her helping clean him up, and her weirdly normal behavior. He remembered throwing up and feeling gross, and he remembered the cab ride and heading for home- here- but... Somewhere in that ride everything got super blurry, and he really did not remember getting inside, or going to sleep.

So what the hell happened...? How did I-?

His eyes started trailing up in his wonder only to stall rather quickly when they found a different section of what was basically one huge floor through a wireframe of a wall, and a wall that only halfway was actual wall. There were a few chairs, couches, and a coffee table set up there in what he'd put together as a sort of common area/living room- the furniture itself mismatched and not new by any means- but what caught his eye now was a jacket draped over the back of a couch that wasn't facing him, and a long-sleeve shirt too. And it was not his jacket or his shirt.

His heart skipped a beat, eyes going wide and his jaw snapping shut in sheer nervous reaction- because no way right..?!

He hesitated to move at all for half a second in sheer nervous incredulity, before quickly getting over that and ending up in a nervous panic and rush in about two seconds flat.

He pushed himself off the mattress and over the line of water bottles and whatever else in front of him, shuffling in rapidity across the space, and sweating up a storm the whole way through. He slowed up a foot or two from said couch, his rushed steps becoming instantly more jittery as he did his best to be quiet, while not being altogether sure he really wanted to know the answer to that insane thought that ran through his head.

He stopped dead as he reached the couch, his heart skipping a beat and going stiff as a board when he peered over the back of it and found Animal Spirit laying across it's length, fast asleep.

Animal Spirit

The No. 19 Pro Hero in Japan

Asleep

On his couch

W-WHA..?!

He would have likely let out a startled yelp or something, but his jaw had wired shut and kept him from making much noise other than a startled gasp of air that quickly got cut off when he clapped his hands over his mouth.

S-SHE'S HERE...?! W-WHY...?!

He swallowed hard, still sweating up a storm and his heart feeling like it was about to give out on him as the realization she was in his house had his nerves frying. His mind struggled to make sense of that why, or even how- before some part of it managed to come to the conclusion she must have been the one to leave that note about the water and the pills, and she must have also come with him once the cab got here (even if he didn't actually remember that).

But even if she'd come with him to the door, why was she inside? And still here, even when he'd been asleep-?

He stiffened, his lips pulling downward quite far and pulling in on himself faintly.

No, not asleep... He must have passed out.

That's why I can't... Remember anything... So... Did she... Stay because of that...?

She must have, that made sense yeah? And she must have... Helped him in the building too, if he really did conk out.

He grimaced, sweating and nervous with even more fervor for that thought.

Ahhhhh, crap, crap, crap, craaaaapppp...!

He hissed under his breath, his already gritted teeth gritting a little harder, and his nervousness bumping up all over again.

What the hell do I do now...?!

I'm fine now, so does she need to still be here at all...?!

D-Do I wake her up..?! Or do I let her keep sleeping...?!

W-What if she's supposed to be somewhere, or out doing something...?!

His hands started to run through his hair nervously, glancing frantically back and forth between the couch, the Pro, the door, and just about everything in between.

Shit, I don't know...!

His hands fell from his hair and onto his cheeks, frowning deeply still as he shot Animal Spirit another anxious and entirely panicked glance- and faltered.

He went still, a little of the panic subsiding long enough for his attention to hone in on the Pro for longer than a few seconds, and when he did he finally took note of the rather awful dark bruising all around and over her right shoulder (visible now, since she had a tank top on and not the shirt from the night before). He swallowed hard, eyes scanning the black and blue stains across her flesh in rapidity before his gaze quickly traveled down the rest of her arm, tracing the red lines of cuts curling all the way down to her hand- some of them held together by stitches. And even a few of those seemed to be pulling uncomfortably, since the wounds themselves seemed a little agitated and inflamed now. He grimaced, hands on his cheeks curling slightly and starting to fall slowly down while he gave her other arm a quick once-over, and found it similarly etched in cuts and such, though they didn't look as bad as those on the right one. But even so, they all didn't look great- in fact it looked painful as hell, and he felt his stomach flip a little for it.

He had seen the cuts on her hand back in the Quick-Mart, and of course he'd noticed the sling- hell, even he had heard about Animal Spirit being taken to the hospital a few days prior. So he knew she was hurt... But seeing it fully for the first time made him feel way more sick to his stomach than he could have anticipated. And a little guilty too.

He hissed under his breath, diverting his eyes from the woman quickly and backing up a frantic pace or two, his hands coming back up from having unconsciously starting to fall and instead hooked behind his neck tightly.

Shit, shit, shit...!

Of course she's asleep, she probably feels gross as hell...!

She totally spent all night dealing with my dumbass when she looks like she's been run through a woodchipper...!

All night out in the freezing freakin' rain, fussing about me being beat to hell and then dealing with me when I passed out..!

And staying too, probably because she was worried I was gonna die or something..!

And I was thinking about waking her up after all of that?!

IDIOT!

He grit his teeth hard, dropping down into crouching on the balls of his feet and folding over so far his ribs hurt like hell, but he barely felt that around what churning unease and nervousness was running wild through him.

Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid!

His hands locked around the back of his neck shook faintly, grey eyes glittering like mad as he stared straight ahead passed his knees and at the floor only a few inches below him, stiff as a board.

S-shit... I've...

He shut his eyes tight, his knuckles turning white as he gripped at the back of his neck all the harder, and he sucked in a sharp breath of air, holding it.

... I have really really fucked up...

He didn't move for a very long time, or even really breathe either. He stayed right where he was, hunched over and almost curled up in ball, heart pounding loudly in his ears and stomach twisting into a million more knots with every passing second-

"Oi, are you alright...?"

He sucked in a startled gasp of air, sputtering as it caught in his throat and his heart leapt into it in the same instant. He started, stumbling as he jerked forward in surprise and promptly lost his footing, staggering forward a few paces trying to catch himself before crashing onto his knees, his momentum spinning him around and sending him on his ass. And in the start of it he let out a none too flattering yelp/squeak, sweating up a storm and on the verge of hyperventilating after what amount of panic and absolute fright rushed through him then.

He shivered, wide-eyed and bristling as his frantic gaze latched on to the couch he'd half skittered, half fallen away from, his grey eyes meeting the tired red ones of the Ebony Hero- who had her head poking only slightly passed the back of the couch on one end, but enough to be able to see him. And he didn't need to see her entire face to recognize what amount of exasperation flared for his reaction to her question.

But fuck, when did she even wake up..?!

Animal Spirit sighed heavily, her eyes falling closed and her head tilting away from being turned toward him to looking up toward the roof instead. She let out a small groan, her left hand lifting wearily off the couch and pushing her bangs back from her face.

"... mmm... kid, you seriously need to... chill..." The woman mumbled quietly, her voice dropping slightly despite herself and sounding drowsy as all hell. He stiffened at it, blinking once while her hand brushed up through her hair, before stalling again and hanging limply off the armrest below her head. "... you've been sitting there for like ten minutes... all worked up... your anxiety is frickin' tangible..." She sighed, her voice getting a smidge lower and a little more broken apart, while he grimaced at the assertion, swallowing hard.

H-Had he really been sitting there that long..?! A-And what did she mean, 'tangible'...?!

"...mm... I am sorry though... I didn't mean to startle you... but you really do need to relax, if you... can..." Animal Spirit kept on, her words breaking off near the end in a rather large yawn. She paused half a second, the yawn breaking off and then she seemed to force herself an even bigger breath, her head tilting back his way and eyes cracking open halfway.

"... are you okay?" She asked again, "You passed out before you ever even got the door open, and you were running a bit of a fever for awhile..." She told him quietly and he hunched a little at the news, his eyes dropping from her and onto the floor quickly. His hands balled tightly into fists, knuckles scraping against the concrete floor where they were behind him and propping him up front having fallen on his ass.

So he had definitely passed out, and she had definitely helped him in, and definitely stayed to keep an eye on him.

He grimaced at it, eyes shutting tightly and hands sliding across the concrete as he leaned toward a little, shoulders hunching and head bowing faintly between them.

Shit shit shit... I'm so stupid damn it, I felt gross but I still though I'd make it back before... Fuck.

"... I... I'm fine..." He stammered quietly and at length, his voice barely above a whisper and fists clenching even harder against the ground.

I am an idiot-

"... Please take a breath... You're gonna stress yourself to death at this rate..."

He stiffened at the words, glancing up quickly and grimacing faintly. Animal Spirit let out another heavy sigh when she caught the less than at ease stare, and she certainly didn't hear him take that breath she mentioned. Hell, she couldn't hear him breathing at all, which had her eyes dropping closed again in exasperation, the Pro grumbling something quietly under her breath that he couldn't catch.

She moved, pushing herself up stiffly from laying down and her face twisting almost the instant she started doing it, though she didn't stop the motion, not even when he saw her trembling faintly for the sheer exertion of it, or what amount of ache and pain seemed to flare. She hunched halfway through sitting up, grumbling still as she pulled her legs in underneath her, and he lost sight of her behind the back of the couch for a moment or two before she settled onto her knees all the way. Then she pushed herself up slightly, facing him more and her left arm draping over the top of the back of the couch, leaning into it wearily while she hugged her right arm to her center, pinning it sort of between herself and the cushions as she leaned into it a little more. She seemed to force herself a steadying breath once she was done and sort of in the position she wanted to be, the woman's red eyes glinting faintly as she met his gaze again, and she shook her head once.

"Kid, you gotta breathe." She repeated wearily, and he stiffened further, grey eyes flashing as his lips pulled into an even deeper frown and she seemed to wilt a little. She looked about to say something else too, but all he could latch on to in that instant around all the whirling thoughts, emotions, what she was saying, and whatever else- was that first bit. And then his voice found him at last-

"I-I ain't a kid...!" He snapped suddenly and she paused, looking surprised for the sudden outburst, before her posture deflated even more and she sighed wearily. She sank a little further into the couch, her chin falling on top of her arm and crimson red eyes glittering.

"... I don't know your name." She told him softly, and he froze under the assertion, his heart skipping a beat and face falling flat- because shit!

I-I never did tell her did my name, did I...!?

Y-You idiot..! H-How could you not, after the whole night...?! STUPID!

"... hmm... and I doubt you want me calling you 'Sushi-Dude'... so I opted for 'kid' instead..." The Ebony Hero went on quietly, oblivious to his internal cursing, or the look of incredulity that appeared on his face for the words, since her eyes dropped closed again.

'S-Sushi-Dude'..?! What the hell is... Is that b-because of the fucking sushi thing at the store..?!

Seriously..?!

He grit his teeth, leaning in a little onto his hands in front of him and now flustered and nervous all over again- but it wasn't nervous in an anxiety, have a heart attack sort of way. Now it was more like embarrassed and a little unnerved, because for her to choose that nickname based on what a short and altogether not at all memorable interaction that had been?!

Why is the sushi thing the thing she picks to associate me with?! And n-not like something about last night..!?

That's fucking weird..!

"Y-You... I'm not... J.. Just... W-what...?!" He stammered, before shaking his head stiffly and rather hotly too. "N-No, you can't pick something as weird as Sushi-Dude..! And not kid either...! No frickin' way...!" He hissed, grey eyes flashing.

"I-It's Dairu...! My name is Kurokku Dairu...! D-Don't call me Sushi-anything, or kid..!"

Animal Spirit blinked her eyes open slowly at that, head tilting slightly one way and her face falling almost utterly flat for a few seconds... before she shook her head faintly and nearly all to herself. And he had no idea what she had been thinking just then in that little pause, but he was sure she did come up with, or think of something- but she chose to leave it be.

For some reason

"Alright, Dairu it is." She hummed softly, "You already know my name... but you can drop the 'Animal' and just call me Spirit, it's easier, no need to say the full thing..." She told him, almost off-handedly, and he swallowed at it,

W-wha...? B-But isn't that like... kinda way too informal or something...?!

But she kept going, regardless of the question running through his mind;

"Anyway, you do really need to relax a little." She murmured, "And I know telling you to relax does literally nothing, but the point still stands... You are so wound up, you're gonna stress yourself into getting sick or an early grave at the rate you're going... And there's really no need... At least with this..." She mumbled, "... I understand me being here and staying uninvited probably isn't exactly a comfortable situation for you, and I am sorry for overstepping, but regardless... I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable, or on edge, or anything like that..." She told him softly, her eyes flashing as she seemed to fall a little more heavily against the top of the couch, but her gaze remained matched with his, steady and unflinching- so much so he forgot all about the name thing.

What is she..?

"... So would it be too much to suggest that... maybe you can trust that I'm not gonna do anything that you need be all nervous and anxious about...?" She asked quietly, and Dairu went rigid for it, his heart skipping a beat in shock.

W-What...?

His gaze fell from her quickly, breaking the eye contact as he swallowed hard against the... The request.

She was asking him to trust her, to try and believe that she wasn't a... A threat or something...? That's kinda what it sounded like...?

But why would she think he saw her as a threat? If anything it should have been the other way around, right...?

It's usually the other way around... And besides!

She's a Pro, why would anybody see her as a threat?

That's literally the opposite of what people are supposed to think about Pro Hero- well, unless you're some kind of Villain or something- but still!

That doesn't make any sense!

And anyway, asking somebody to just trust you out of the blue, even if you are a Pro, isn't normal-!

"... you don't have to trust me." Animal Spirit murmured quietly and out of the blue. He went stiff as a board, wide-eyed and very unnerved in an instant for the words because- can she read minds..?!

She shook her head once, very aware of the nervousness on his face bumping up the seconds she said it, and she sighed quietly, her eyes shifting sideways and away from him entirely.

"... trusting other people isn't easy... I'm not asking you to trust me, not entirely... I'm just saying maybe try and have a little faith in the idea I'm not gonna try and screw you over or anything..." She mumbled softly, "... I don't have anything I can say to make it easier for you to actually believe that, or try to put you a little more at ease... sorry... I'm not really the best at talking things through or anything like that, even being a Pro..." She admitted softly and his face fell slightly, surprised.

Why would a Pro ever admit to... that...?

It's... weird.

He swallowed slightly, grey eyes flashing and his posture wilting faintly too for a moment.

... She's weird.

"... mmm... and I'm... not super great at assurances either..." Animal Spirit went on softly, another heavy sigh escaping her while her eyes moved back his way, almost warily so. "... so I am sorry, I really don't mean to prod at you... but I'm kinda at the point where I can't just leave you be without making sure you're... fine." She murmured quietly and he stiffened, instantly on edge and nervous all over again. And in fact, he found himself almost feeling like he was now stuck in a corner that he hadn't realized he'd been being backed into.

That look was... knowing, and steady, and almost piercing- like she was looking right through him all of a sudden, and he shivered faintly under it, his heart skipping a beat.

He'd seen that look before, and always on adults. Those people so much older than him, and always grim-faced and almost stern, half a dozen of them so long ago as they looked down and saw him, and went utterly silent and almost rigid as they recognized it. When they knew what they were looking at when they saw him... but never did they say it out loud, and never did anything come of it beside those deathly silent and grim looks. Pitying looks, but only ever a look, before they turned their eyes away and never looked back again. And then over the years even those looks became fewer and fewer until they were gone completely and became replaced with something colder, and meaner.

But... She didn't look away like all the rest of them had, and there was no amount of pity to be seen in her eyes. Nor was there that cold and grim either, or even thinly veiled distaste- this was something different. Something he'd never seen before in somebody else when they looked at him, and something he would never in a million years have thought to see in her.

And to be honest, he really could not fathom that in her at all, so he wasn't altogether sure he did see it... how could he?

How could that be there, in her? And be there, and not seem pitying in the least...?

Not pity, not distaste, not grim nor uneasy, and not like she needed to look away before it turned her stomach too much.

This was not that, it was just... understanding.

Dairu shivered again, a cold lump forming in his stomach of a like he'd never felt before that instant, and he averted his eyes from the Ebony Hero in haste. He couldn't keep his eyes on her when she looked like that, and he couldn't help how quickly every inch of his being started to squirm underneath it.

He did feel like she was staring straight through him, like he was completely vulnerable, totally out in the open, utterly without any amount of walls, or protection, or anything in between him and the rest of the world that he kept so fervently at bay. All of a sudden there was no wall there between him and that Pro Hero. That wall between, and that barrier constantly separating him from everything else, vanished. Gone. Nothing.

And he had never felt like that before, ever.

S-Shit... w-what the...?

He didn't know how to process it, he couldn't fathom the strange sensation, or even really how it had come to life in that instant. There had been no warning signs to it, no hint of it creeping up, and no capacity in himself to handle it- because it was so new.

It was new, totally unheard of, totally foreign... and man, he hated it.

He even felt a little sick for it, uneasy and on edge, and almost like he was suddenly standing on the edge of a cliff. One minuscule step away from the edge and sheer weightlessness that would send him hurtling down at breakneck speed to crash hard into the earth.

S-shit, shit, shit... I... I don't like this at all...

He held his breath, eyes shutting tight and teeth gritting hard, the nauseating feeling of going over the edge hitting him in the next instant. He was one second away from falling fast, and with no way to stop,

... I.. I don't wanna-!

"... Do you live here by yourself?"

He got jerked back, saved going over the edge at the last millisecond by the question- and how utterly nonchalant her voice sounded as she asked it.

Dairu's head snapped up and around, blinking several times in rapidity and dumbfounded.

W-wait a minute, what...?!

What the hell kind of question is that...?!

And why did she say it like that...?! Like she's just making simple conversation...?!

More dumbfounding still was the fact that when their eyes matched again? That look? The understanding one, the one he didn't understand, or know what it was, or had ever felt before?

That was gone too, and now she looked calm as all hell and totally... Totally almost nonchalant...!

W-WHA?!

HOW?!

HOW CAN SHE FLIP LIKE THAT?!

WHY WOULD SHE FLIP LIKE THAT?!

"... Eh...?!" He breathed, the incredulous questions racing in his mind not quite making it into actual words. Animal Spirit blinked once at the not at all proper response, still calm as ever as she tilted her head slightly.

"I assume you don't have a roommate or anything, since I don't smell anybody but you in here." She elaborated lightly, "But rain muddles scents and everything, so I'm curious. Is it just you here?" She asked again, and he stalled, his mind feeling like a belt that suddenly slipped, causing the gears to jam and leaving him still reeling but completely unable to move forward and really process any of it at all. And with a lack of processing power, his mind fell back on a bit of autopilot;

"... Uh... Yeah...?" He answered slowly, and completely without really meaning to answer- but his mind made him do it anyway, and he hadn't the mental capacity to stop himself.

Animal Spirit nodded slightly in acknowledgment, red eyes glinting. "How long have you been here?" She asked next and still in that very light, sort of chit-chatty way that had him reeling. And again, his mind decided on autopilot-

"... A year..." He mumbled slowly and she nodded one more time.

"Do you have a job?" Came next, and his shoulders sank, a little more confusion creeping it's way into his face in place of the sheer unease.

"... No... Not... A full-time thing, just... Random work... Here and there... Mostly cleaning or... Grocery stuff..." He mumbled,

"School?"

He grimaced faintly at that one, a little bit of the autopilot being overridden with a flash of unease and annoyance that made small inklings of that sour look his face was so prone to, to come back.

"... No..." He replied quite a bit lower that time, but Animal Spirit didn't skip a beat even for the little shift in attitude, she just trudged on.

"Parents?" She asked next, and that time his face darkened instead of just turning sour, and he couldn't help himself.

"No." He growled, and Animal Spirit paused half a heartbeat for it, calm and steady as ever, before nodding once and letting out a sigh.

"Do you have work today?" She asked next, her voice growing a little more weary now as the nonchalant air to it faded again, and he faltered, eyes narrowing to slits.

"... What's with the 20 questions?" He countered, autopilot switching off again in the quake of sheer agitation at the previous inquiry- Animal Spirit shook her head slightly.

"It's simple conversation." She murmured, "And I told you, I've gotta make sure you're fine. Asking a few questions makes it easier to gauge that." She explained softly and he stiffened at the assertion, but more so because he was confused than altogether uneasy. Because those questions helped her gauge how 'fine' he was?

How?

There was a heartbeat or two where he didn't reply, since he was still stuck trying to understand it even slightly- Animal Spirit gave him those two heartbeats, before trying again.

"Do you have work today?" She repeated, and he hesitated half a second more, before shaking his head stiffly.

"U-uhm... No..."

She nodded once, her eyes leaving him as she shifted away from leaning into the back of the couch slowly. "Alright, that's probably for the best... I was gonna suggest you not go to work anyway, if you did have it planned." The Pro sighed, sitting back on her heels a moment as her eyes dropped from him and toward her long-sleeve shirt and jacket draped over the couch in front of her. She grabbed her shirt, stepping back off the couch with it in hand as she got to her feet (stiffly) and then began circling around to the other side of the couch. She started fiddling with her shirt even as she walked, shaking it out a little to straighten it before gingerly snaking her right arm through the sleeve first, and Dairu heard her wince about halfway through it, making him frown. But she didn't let up or stop walking, pulling her arm all the way through and then pausing for a moment as the got to the other side of the couch to pull it over her head and putting her left arm through the last sleeve.

She glanced his way again once she was done with that, her attention stuck somewhere behind him and over his head for half a second, before their gazes matched all the way.

"Did you take any of those?" She asked, pointing toward the line of water bottles and pills that were set near the mattress behind him, and he stiffened- which seemed to be all the answer she needed, since she sighed soon after and her hand fell. "Alright, then you probably should now. You need to stay hydrated... and I'm sure you're sore as hell, hmm?" She murmured and he frowned faintly for the words, averting his eyes almost stubbornly.

He didn't exactly like her telling him what to do, least of all when it sounded sort of close to how someone would instruct a kid or some idiot who didn't know better. And he sure as hell didn't like being called out like that either, because she was totally right about him being sore, but he needn't be reminded of it.

And he really really didn't like the whole situation at all. It was weird, it was way too complicated and not normal- she was weird, and complicated, and not normal, and he didn't get it. Which was agitating, and anxiety inducing all at the same time. More so for such an abrupt, and quite frankly unsettling switch there had been in the whole interaction just then.

One minute there was that look she had given him that had him feeling vulnerable and out in the open that he did not like one bit, nor understand- then she was talking to him and asking such short questions that were helping her gauge him. And they were just questions, she didn't pry further than the first inquiry, nor attempt to get him to elaborate when he'd given her curt answers in reply, and she seemed almost satisfied with it. Which again, made no sense...!

And now she had switched to being calm and straight to the point, telling him to drink water and take care of himself like it was the most normal thing ever- almost like she had known him long enough, or well enough, to make it normal, but it wasn't.

All of this is just so not normal..!

Animal Spirit paused for a moment or two where she was as Dairu frowned to himself, stiff in his spot and not looking much too pleased, nor all that comfortable- and certainly not about to move and do as she suggested. She was about to prompt him a little more too, but he was very aware of her eyes still on him, and that feeling of her watching him made him more uncomfortable than any of the rest of it. And he did not want to linger too long with her watching him like that- so even if he didn't like being told what to do, or if it was abornomal or whatever else- it was better than being stared at.

"Tch... f-fine..!" He hissed, shaking his head stiffly and shuffling quickly backward from her and toward the mattress, water, and pills- and then quite deliberatly turning his back to her before he moved to do as she suggested.

Spirit let out a quiet breath for it, waiting a second or two more for him to finish getting the cap to the medicine and a water bottle open, before turning back toward the couch beside her. She picked her jacket up off the back of it without a word, sighing internally for the chill and dampness of it still- much more than her shirt had been, though even that was still faintly wet. She draped the jacket over her left arm, fiddling slightly with the sling still stuffed away in one of the pockets and doing her best to stuff it in a little more snuggly, as it was falling out a little.

Dairu swallowed a big gulp of water and a few pills with it, the bottle still at his lips as he cast a wary look back over his shoulder toward the Ebony Hero upon hearing her start to move again, and very thankful her eyes had finally moved off him. He saw her messing with the sling and jacket both, grimacing faintly to himself as the image of how awful her shoulder and all her injuries had looked a bit earlier suddenly flared to life as he watched her fiddle away with the sling. And then he grimaced some more for a distinct lack of her actually having the sling on or moving to put it on- which she totally should have. He almost snapped at her for it too, but he stopped himself before he could get around to it, since he wasn't really in any position to scold her for something like that.

She was the adult in this situation, she'd already been taking care of him the whole time, and she was a Pro Hero on top of that. She knew full well what she was doing, or what she was really supposed to being doing about her own injuries, she had to. But clearly she was choosing not to follow what she knew full well, so there was no point in snapping at her for it. Plus, he had no standing to after being so stubborn about his own well-being the whole time.

So he kept his mouth shut, even though she was being super dumb- tch.

Dairu grit his teeth harder, about to avert his eyes from the Pro again, but he never got around to it, since a small glint of light caught his attention.

He stiffened faintly, catching sight of her cell phone slipping from her other coat pocket to meet dead-air, and Animal Spirit herself was quick to notice it herself. She cursed something under her breath so softly he couldn't quite make it out, her hand shooting outward to try and catch it before it went too far, and then missing the phone entirely as her movement stalled on the back of a very loud, and very unsettling CRACK.

The phone clattered against the concrete floor, but not even the sound of that could rival the spine-crawling sound of bone, or muscle, or something fleshy and totally human-ey that just sounded from Animal Spirit's shoulder and arm right then.

And the Ebony Hero stalled, completely.

She didn't move an inch, her arm still stretched out the bit it had managed before such an awful sound hit the air, and the rest of her just as still and unmoving too. She was deathly quiet, eyes locked ahead on the ground and not even seeming to be breathing- Dairu himself forgot how to breathe for a second too, his face falling flat in shock and staring.

For a few heartbeats nobody moved at all, before Dairu saw the color quickly begin to drain from the Pro Hero's face, her eyes dropping closed as her lips pull into a thin line, and a shudder ran up her arm and through the rest of her body.

Dairu bristled, his hold on his water bottle tightening so much it sent a spray of water every which way, spattering against the floor, himself, and everywhere in between- but he didn't register the wet even in the slightest. His heart leapt into his throat, beating a million miles a minute now and panicky as Animal Spirit's face went about ten shades whiter than it already had, her arm retracting only half an inch back before a shaky hiss escaped under her breath, and her posture quickly wilted. She dropped down into crouching on the balls of her feet, bent over and hugging her right arm into her stomach tightly, her left hand holding to her shoulder and forehead hitting her knees as she shut her eyes tight and held her breath some more- while Dairu rushed to gain his feet underneath him properly and dart quickly back across the space toward her, the water bottle he'd just spilled more than half of hitting the floor.

"H-Holy shit...!" He hissed, sweating up a storm and fidgeting like crazy as he drew up just beside the Pro Hero, hovering with his hands doing the same and not at all sure of what he was supposed to do.

Like, he couldn't reach out right?! That clearly hurt, she might not like it if he did, he might make it worse- but he should do something, right...?!

Yes...!

... Yes...?!

Maybe n-no...?!

I don't know..!

"S-Shit...! M-Ms. Animal Spirit, a-are you okay...?!" Was the first (and very stupid) thing he managed to blurt out, and he immediately wanted to smack himself for it- because no! Clearly she is not okay dumbass!

But of course that didn't help with knowing what to do or anything else, and he just started fidgeting all the more, growing increasingly more panicked and flustered- especially for a lack of any sort of response from the Pro bent over in front of him. She didn't move outside of the slight trembling of her hand around her shoulder, and she didn't lift her head off her knees for even an instant, or move a single muscle in the slightest. Hell, she was totally not breathing. Like at all.

Okay, that definitely hurt- like really really hurt, clearly. So her holding her breath for a bit because of it? That makes sense yeah?

But she's been holding it for like way too long now, yeah...? T-that's not good, and she's not moving, and she's not answering, and her face went all white and- SHIIIIT!

W-WHAT DO I DO...?!

Dairu stalled, grey eyes glittering like mad and hands halfway stretched out to her but not daring to go any farther. He grimaced, shaking slightly himself and swallowing hard before he grit his teeth, bucking up slightly and dropping down stiffly into crouching on the balls of his feet just in front of her (while being careful not to step on her phone still on the floor).

"Y-You have gotta go to the hospital...!" He told her, and much more firmly and steadily than he anticipated he could manage just then. Animal Spirit stiffened at the words, her head tilting up slowly and casting him a look with narrowed eyes, her face still a little pale, and red eyes glittering in question, and no small amount of pain.

"... Excuse me..?" She muttered lowly, her voice low and almost breathless. But she answered at any rate, and he didn't even let himself be bothered or offput with what little bits of a growl had worked it's way into her voice either. He just grimaced further, shaking his head stiffly and his hands balling into fists against his knees, grey gaze level with hers and unflinching for the first time since meeting her.

"Y-Your shoulders all messed up, and bruised to hell...! A-And you clearly just messed it up further tryin' to catch your d-damn phone..! I-It sounds like you snapped something, o-or yanked it out of place doin' that, a-and you look like you're gonna pass out j-just from it hurting so damn much...! P-Plus your arms look like they got run through a woodshredder, and are all swollen and stuff, w-which ain't great either...! Especially after we g-got all soaked last night...!" He hissed quickly, shaking his head roughly. "Y-You gotta go to the hospital..!" He repeated again, and just as firmly as the time before, if not more so- and the Pro frowned, one eye twitching in clear agitation. But Dairu didn't pause even under that look, he shook his head again, shark-like teeth baring slightly as he leaned in a little more and his hands came off his knees, one hovering off to the side of her and palm up- like he was holding it out for her to take- and then his other pointed toward the front door rather sternly.

"W-We are going to the hospital, right now!" He snapped lowly, and Animal Spirit stalled, staring, and he stayed right where he was too, hands either way and unwavering even under her stare.

And it was like that for a few moments too long, not a word being said, not a muscle moved, just staring (or rather almost glaring) at one another- before the Pro's face fell entirely.

"... Are you kidding me...?" Animal Spirit muttered tiredly after a moment, and he paused, blinking once at the question while she let out an aggravated groan, her head tilting down again and her forehead hitting her knees. She shook her head slowly, her auburn bangs mussing up in the process as she let out a heavy and entirely exasperated sigh. Dairu blinked one more time, his hands falling ever so slightly and a little lost now with yet another abrupt switch in tone and demeanor from the woman.

(Seriously, how does she flip attitude like that?)

He heard Ebony Hero mumbled a few things under her breath that he could not catch, or otherwise sounded like they were said in English- and therefore he did not totally understand, though it did surprise him.

Why would she switch to English all of a sudden...? And why did it almost sound like... cursing...?

Animal Spirit huffed, another sigh escaping her just as exasperated as the first, while she shook her head once more too. And he had no clue as to what she seemed to be thinking and grumbling about just then, and she certainly did not elaborate on it either- she just glanced up slowly, looking weary as hell as her red eyes matched with his again.

"... hmph... fine." She mumbled quietly and Dairu went rigid, his eyes going wider than ever and heart skipping a beat with the agreement.

W-what...?! She's actually gonna do what I said...?!

"S-Seriously...?!" He stammered incredulously, and she seemed to want to sigh again, but stopped herself.

"Yes." She replied levelly and he nearly failed to keep his hands from falling back to his sides in sheer shock.

H-Huh..?! I d-didn't think she'd actually listen...?!

What the hell?!

Animal Spirit took in a deep breath, pushing herself up slightly off her knees and from being folded over- though she did it slowly, and moving even that little bit brought another hiss of pain passed her lips, regardless of her trying not to let it slip. Dairu stiffened for the sound of it, a little of his shock getting cut off with another round of anxiety and nervousness both, but the woman didn't linger on it long, or stop herself from straightening almost all the way. Her hold on her shoulder loosened slightly too, though she didn't dare move the arm from holding it to her center, and he stayed stiff in his spot watching her tensely as she seemed to take a heartbeat or two to settle again.

"... just so you know... I was already going to head there on my own... You needn't snap at me to do it." She told him after a moment, only little hints of an edge working their way in her tone again, but he didn't really register them at all. He simply blinked in surprise to the words, while Spirit cracked one eye open again and glanced his way, looking weary as she shook her head once at the rather incredulous look still plastered across his face, before her attention shifted to the side shortly after, and she huffed once. "... hmph... but anyway... yes, I'm going..." She sighed, and Dairu faltered for half a second more at the words, not entirely sure what to make of the whole thing, before deciding it best not to question it too much.

She was weird, he'd said that a million times already, and he did not get her.... but he didn't need to get all hung up on that, at least not anymore than he already had.

There's more important things to deal with than wondering about how crazy weird she is-

The younger pushed himself up onto his feet stiffly, nodding once and his hand that had been hovering between them inching toward the Ebony Hero faintly. Animal Spirit noticed it and blinked slowly, her red eyes trailing toward the extended hand first, before moving up to him instead, and he returned the look as steadily as he could manage, shark-like teeth gritting slightly. She seemed to give both him and his outstretched hand some thought for a moment or two, almost like she wasn't sure she should take it at all- but the bit of thinking came and went faster than he had any real time to wonder on the look, or what seemed like hesitation in the Pro.

Not that hesitation from someone else was an unfamiliar thing, mind you-

Animal Spirit's left hand fell into his lightly, cutting off the thought running through the his head in an instant. Dairu swallowed, grey eyes flashing as he instinctively stiffened faintly for the contact, before slowly pulling her up onto her feet, and grimacing when she winced a little during it. But she stood up all the way, still cradling her right arm close the whole way through and eyes still down, while his stomach knotted itself terribly for how little color had come back into her face even once the initial pain seemed to fade.

Ahh, craaaaap-

He swallowed hard, quick to separate their hands once she was up and then quickly stoop back down to snatch her phone up off the floor and hand it her way. Animal Spirit took it from him with little a word and mostly just a small nod, and he fidgeted again, glancing toward the door and then back to the Pro as she adjusted her jacket a little into the crook of her elbow and tapped the phone screen to life... and Animal Spirit seemed to grimace rather deeply when the screen came on, some sort of notification waiting for her on the lock screen turning her weary expression almost as sour as his face was prone to be in no time at all.

Dairu faltered at the look, unsure of it for half a second, especially when she let out an aggravated breath and shut the screen off again by rather tightly gripping the sides and lock button.

Uh... okay...?

He shook his head at himself and frowned, grey eyes averting from the Ebony Hero once again and staying away from her this time around. He took a stiff step backward, backtracking quickly to where the mattress was, and now sitting next to a puddle of water and a half empty water bottle on it's side. He wasted no time in skipping passed the spill, picking his jacket up off the floor where it was folded and then moving quickly back in the direction of Animal Spirit, his eyes still on the ground, and nervous and fidgety all over again.

"C-Come on." He mumbled lowly, a little bit of urgency finding it's way into his core in the place of sheer panic from a few minutes beforehand. He paused only half a second as he said it and drew level with her, before continuing on passed the couch and leading the way toward the front door, Animal Spirit trailing slowly behind him and utterly quiet. He could feel her eyes on his back the whole way though, which made him a little more uneasy and all the more ready to get going and shift her focus (or more preferably all focus) away from himself by getting where they were going.

And because he was so intent to shift attention from himself, he didn't even hesitate... which is what had made Animal Spirit grumble that 'are you kidding' me from before, though Dairu didn't understand that.

Spirit sighed heavily under her breath, her teeth gritting against an awful and nonstop hot and burning throb running through every inch of her from her shoulder. She kept herself quiet though, even when every step made that fire and throb a million times worse.

Because seriously, are you kidding me?

She'd spent the night previous insisting several times over that he go to a goddamn hospital, and he'd steadfastly refused. But the instant her shoulder popped and she seemed at all to be in any sort of pain (albeit even if it was agony and so very unpleasant)- he was all ready and raring to go to a hospital now? And with no hesitation, or even unease for the prospect?

He was avoiding it like the plague last night, but now it's all 'we're going and there's no arguing the point'... tch.

Spirit's eye twitched, pain, annoyance at being ordered around, and confusion with the whole thing making her growl a little in barely muffled agitation- and agitation that was only made worse by how tired and altogether disgusting she felt.

Oh, and let's not forget- the reason her shoulder was so quick to pop and crack like that, even if she had moved rather fast trying to catch her phone? And why it was all 'bruised to hell' as the kid had put it when he was snapping at her?

This was not the first time in the last few hours her shoulder had done that- that CRACK

No, because last night when the kid ended up passing out on his doorway, she'd done her best to catch him before he smacked against the floor- and in doing so, had gotten her arm wrenched downward by his sheer weight. And it had had the same results as it had with trying to grab her phone... well actually, maybe a bit more severe results last night, than compared to now.

... I think I actually dislocated it last night a little, even if it slid back into place quickly after that... but either way; this fucking sucks.

Her eyes flashed, holding her breath a moment and swallowing hard against the stab of pain that ran through her with another step forward, and every step after it.

Damn it... and now I actually have to go to the hospital.

Her eyes latched on to Dairu ahead of her, the younger reaching the door and casting a fleeting, entirely nervous glance back her way that only stayed on her for but a millisecond. It was a complete 180 from being stubborn and worked up when demanding they go to the hospital, to now not really looking like he had the will to look at her at all.

I don't get this kid, he's all over the place. He's so quick to snap and seem angry as hell- but just as quick to be a total nervous wreck... and he's actually planning on coming with me...? And not really giving me a choice in the matter either?

Again, what the hell?

Spirit swallowed hard, crimson eyes flashing slightly as her gaze stayed stuck on the younger ahead of her, fidgety, a little urgent, and waiting. That same person she had met by chance a few days earlier, all sour-faced in the Quick-Mart, then again on the street, and all the way to him being beaten to hell in defense of some random woman... that same guy, a kid really, who had been nothing less than nervous and defensive all through the night prior, and remained so even now.

.:+:.

"Are you okay?" She asked next and he jumped a little at it, eye twitching and almost dumbfounded for a second.

"...o.. okay...?" He mumbled, and Spirit nodded faintly, her eyes closed.

"Mhmm. I never actually asked, which is my bad, but I'm asking now." The Ebony Hero murmured, her head tilting slightly in his direction, one eye cracking open halfway and glittering pale copper-scarlet in the dirty light overhead.

"So, are you okay?"

Sushi-Dude froze for a minute as he caught the look, lips pulling into a tight line and almost not sure what to do with the question... And it wasn't a hard question, but it might as well have been the hardest question in the world for him to process at that moment.

And why was it so hard to process?

He frowned, swallowing hard at the thought and looking away from her hotly, hating the way his stomach churned violently all of a sudden and the way his core even... Ached.

"..t-tch... I'm fine." He growled lowly, his voice so full of anger and bitterness all of a sudden. Spirit blinked, her face falling for a moment at it, before nodding once and deciding it was better not to press it... But hell if her own stomach didn't churn a little too, and she bit down on the inside of her cheek as she forced herself to look away again.

Shit

.:+:.

"You need to go to the hospital." Spirit mumbled lowly, the words making him go rigid immediately and his head to snap her way, grey eyes flashing and shark-like teeth gritting.

"N-Not a chance..!" He snapped instantly, "I am not going...! A-And you can't force me to either, I ain't a kid..!" He hissed, and Spirit's eye twitched slightly.

Well you're sure as hell acting like one-

"-technically I can't force you, no. But I can strongly recommend it." Spirit replied calmly- well... As calm as she could anyway, which was only barely. Despite her best efforts an edge worked it's way into her voice and it came out almost like a growl.

He stiffened further at the words however, grey eyes flashing as something other than stubbornness suddenly flitted across his face out of nowhere, and then he backed up a pace from her.

Spirit faltered, her eyes widening slightly while he looked away from her and toward the ground, his posture suddenly growing a little more closed off and a little defensive now too. She heard him suck in a sharp breath of air and hold it, eyes shutting tight as his shoulders hunched, his teeth gritting so hard she wouldn't have been surprised if his jaw had seemed to have wired shut like it had earlier. For a second or two he went quiet, Spirit standing where she was and her face falling for the sudden shift out of nowhere.

When he let out the breath he'd sucked in it was shallow, and it shook violently in his throat to boot- his breathing picking up to something a little faster, more breathless, and a little more frantic and uneasy. Just like earlier when he started to-

"... t..tch... I... I am not going..." Sushi-Dude stammered out, his voice wispy and shaking as much as his breathing had started to. His shoulders hunched more, hands in his pockets surely balled up tight, while his voice dropped further than it already had,

"... I... I can't.. J... Just... Please stop... L-leave it alone..."

Spirit swallowed, her heart skipping a tiny beat for what was nearly pleading now, and she felt her stomach knot a million times worse than it already had.

-this was just like earlier, when he started to freak out.

Hell, not even freak out but more border on having a panic attack. And for what?

Why in the hell would going to the hospital make him react like that...?

She didn't know, and she couldn't really make a guess or even fathom it either. I mean, Spirit didn't like hospitals any more than the next person, and she generally did her best not to go unless she had no other choice, sure- but she wasn't like this.

He seemed almost terrified of going

.:+:.

"... Do you live here by yourself?"

"... Uh... Yeah...?"

"How long have you been here?"

"... A year..."

.:+:.

"You might have some broken or cracked ribs."

"... They ain't broken or anything, just bruised." He muttered lowly and Spirit paused, blinking slowly at how quick an answer it was, and just how sure he sounded of it.

No hesitation, no uncertainty, and it didn't sound like him simply avoiding the topic or trying to skimp over it. It was firm and to the point, and nearly sounded like fact- like he just knew.

She swallowed, biting the inside of her cheek against what any amount of surety for such a statement likely entailed.

.:+:.

His voice cut off with a very audible SNAP.

Spirit jumped a little, a shiver running up her spine and her heart skipping a beat for the rather unsettling sound, and one that was clearly a hard clang of teeth on teeth as his jaw suddenly snapped shut, and without hesitation or care.

She would have been shocked if he didn't break a few teeth with how violently he forced them together, honestly. The snap was almost earsplitting, though it was slightly muffled since he seemed to have bit down on the collar of his hoodie. But of course he bit down on the zipper too, and the sound of metal on bone was just as rattling as the rest of it.

"... u..uh...?" Spirit stammered uncertainly, a little nervous herself now as he seemed to hunch in on himself even further, his hands coming up to hold his face as he shut his eyes tight. She heard his breathing pick up to something rushed and perhaps a little frantic, his hands earning a tremble in them that radiated down his shoulders, and Spirit swallowed hard. She instinctively went to step closer, her hand reaching out as her mind started racing for the rather abrupt turn in events- and Sushi-Dude was all too aware of her moving. But this time he did more than back off, he actually flinched- folding in on himself and ducking his head, his breathing picking up to something a little faster and more breathless. His fingers dug in hard into the back of his neck, his hold on his face growing firmer too, and so much so he might have been likely to bruise himself, while still his teeth remained shut on his zipper and with no hint that he'd be letting go anytime soon.

Shit... is... is he...?

"... d...a...mn...i...t..." He hissed behind his teeth, breathless and husky, and Spirit stalled. He moved his trembling hands from his neck and started trying to tug at the jacket in his teeth... and then sort of pry his teeth open, though it just made his already split lips start bleeding anew.

Crap... he's... really freaking out... shit shit shit...

She went to move again but thought better of it, stopping herself short and frowning slightly when she realized how quick he'd been to recoil from her beforehand... and grumbling silently under her breath for why he'd have any reason to do so.

.:+:.

"School?"

"... No..."

"Parents?"

"No."

.:+:.

Spirit's eyes dropped from Dairu at the door and to the ground, teeth gritting while her stomach knotted a little despite herself.

That same person she had met by chance a few days earlier, and now spent a whole night out with, and then more so keeping an eye on... ever with him being nervous, anxious, defensive, and just altogether uncomfortable, distrustful, and guarded.

Really, really guarded... like it was second nature by now. Something he had learned to, and had to be... tch.

... Shit... What the hell have you gotten yourself into, Spirit...?

---

Hello lovelies! It has been a long time indeed, I am so sorry for the wait!

This was a long chapter, but I do hope you enjoyed it, and the getting to know Sushi-Dude a little better!

His interactions with Spirit are interesting to write, and I hope all of you look forward to seeing some more of him in the next chapter and beyond! It's gonna be a trip XD

But anyhoo, thank you all for reading, and all your abundant patience! I appreciate every single one of you readers so very much!

Please follow, fav, and Review if you can! Thank you!